11 Plus Exams Forum

My son is in the middle of 4 entrance tests for independent schools: 2 down and 2 to go.

If he does well enough they will then want to interview him. I was wondering if anyone had any tips for the interview. Should he be doing any kind of preparation or is it best just to be spontaneous and natural? He's never experienced anything like them before. Any advice would be welcome.

Of course, he may not get any interviews in which case we'll all just go away somewhere and cry....!!

Thanks.

Rehearsal of interviews, preferably adults who your child is not familiar with, is recommended, since at the very least the practice will dispel anxiety and enable you child to come across more confident.

Typical interview questions cover details of your child’s current school and schooling, personal profile/details and common interview topics such as aspirations and sometimes tricky opinions on news events such as the Tsunami. Your child should learn not to fidget, maintain eye contact and maintain a positive body language.

"During the interview, your son will be asked about his interests; he will also be given a poem to read aloud; and he will be asked for his answers to a number of mathematical problems. We also like each candidate to bring along a single piece of work, done in the last few months, of which he is particularly proud, and we shall ask him questions on this too"

How old is your son ?

My son has just turned 11. He was sent an invitation for interview which stated: "During the interview, your son will be asked about his interests; he will also be given a poem to read aloud; and he will be asked for his answers to a number of mathematical problems. We also like each candidate to bring along a single piece of work, done in the last few months, of which he is particularly proud, and we shall ask him questions on this too"

My son is also 11 and we've just heard that he's got an interview at an independent school in North London. They give no guidance on the interview at all except to say that he will have two interviews with different people. We as parents are also asked to have an informal meeting with the Headteacher. We're not sure if we're being interviewed as well!

The schools’ interest in parents’ interview is purely commercial. They need to gauge your ability to be able to pay the fees for the next seven years, whether or not you will be difficult/high maintenance parents from their point of view, and finally if they can sense any domestic issues that my result in an unsettled child who will require more attention than their peer group.

My son has completed two interviews with senior independent schools for 11+ entry.

One interview was scheduled for 10 minutes, involved him solving four verbal reasoning sequences in three minutes, reading a poem aloud, and briefly discussing a piece of work that he had completed in the last six months that he was particularly proud of. On the latter, boys turned up with pieces of art, school books, and one with a practice exam paper where he had scored 98% Mathematics. Prior to this interview he has sat examinations in verbal reasoning (multiple choice), mathematics (multiple choice) and english, which had included a 20-minute essay.

In the other interview that was scheduled for 30 minutes, he was asked to read aloud a longer passage, orally do a comprehension with the deputy head teacher, give definitions of approximately ten uncommon words, have a mental arithmetic test, go through the reference the school had written for him and then be probed about his career aspirations, interests, last book he had read, favourite subject, competitor schools that he had applied to and why etc. Prior to this interview he had sat examinations in verbal reasoning (multiple choice), mathematics and english which included a 30-minute essay.

Thanks for all the replies. He's now done three interviews and enjoyed them all! None of them seemed to be that demanding in the end.

If anyone has anything further to add I would be most grateful. My child has an interview shortly. Thanks.